Commission shows contempt for public, common sense

The Bonner County Zoning Commission shows contempt for state statute, public interest, and common sense.

Idaho Statute 67-65 is intended to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the people as follows: To encourage urban and urban-type development within incorporated cities. To avoid undue concentration of population and overcrowding of land. To protect life and property in areas subject to natural hazards and disasters.

We all know that the lands around the city of Kootenai hold a potentially damaging amount of water during spring runoff, and yet this commission ignores the city's desire to annex this development so that city standards can be met. There are city streets built for this development, but the zoning commission thinks it is appropriate to leave these inaccessible to the new lots and funnel all the traffic from 116 homes onto rural roads, leaving this asset underutilized while creating hazards in other areas.

Who is this commission looking out for? When you hear comments from commissioners about the land they own and how they would rather develop it in the county, you can draw the conclusion that they are representing their own interests and not the welfare of the people. Kootenai should be able to have a say in the development of adjacent properties in the area of city impact.

The reasonable thing for Bonner County to do in this situation is to require a development that would account for one-third of the population of the city of Kootenai to annex into the city.

KRISTINA KINGSLAND

Sandpoint